Friday Stream of Consciousness -142

Featuring Ken Griffey Jr., The Lone Bellow, and the Aging Suit

HOW IN THE WORLD COULD ANYONE VOTE AGAINST KEN GRIFFEY JR. FOR THE HALL OF FAME?

Trevor Hoffman also should have made it.

It looks like the Chargers are headed to Los Angeles. I won’t pull for them–even though from Long Beach and their stadium will be about 12 miles from the house I grew up in. No está bien traicionar a tus fans.

Sometimes I think the NFL shield should have a pitchfork on it. I have this sense that 20 years from now, the NFL will no longer dominate things the way it does now…having fallen victim to what Jim Collins calls, “The hubris born of success.”

Sermon preparation process is first spiritual, then creative, then intellectual. It is usually taught as first spiritual, then race to the intellectual, then creativity is optional and usually for those who don’t do solid exegesis.

This is likely one reason for the lack of engagement with the sermon one can observe in some churches. Creativity is not the enemy of exegesis. It is its companion.

By creativity, I simply mean finding a way to communicate the Word in a way that makes that fiber bar taste more like a donut…so the church develops a hunger and taste for the Word. Notice I didn’t say serve donuts. Serve fiber bars that taste like donuts…or at least not like a fiber bar.

I skied and not only survived but had fun and avoided severe injury (extreme soreness excluded).

I’m a warm weather guy. Anything below 66 or so is extreme weather to me.

For you self-righteous cold snobs thinking I’m a wuss…

Let’s see how you handle the heat 🙂 I’m the only dude hanging in the hot tub in Palm Springs in August. Come join me.

One unintended consequence of the President’s new gun control orders is that those who need mental health help may stay away from such for fear their firearms will be taken away–or they will no longer be able to acquire them. That leaves them both with guns and ill.

If there was Mt. Rushmore of fibs Christians tell themselves, Washington would be, “I can’t afford to tithe,” (and all giving related rationalizations). Lincoln would be, “I’d love to, I just don’t have time.” I suppose the other two might be, “I’ve forgave them a long time ago,” and, “I’m totally committed to the church.”

Generosity, commitment, forgiveness, and covenant. These are big things…we must tell ourselves and one another the truth about these. God already knows.

I’ve been blogging for almost 12 years now. Every now and then I have someone ask me how to start a blog. I tell them, decide if you’re ready to post for years. Then, decide if you are writing for yourself, your audience, or a little of both. It’s usually best to start writing journal-style (for yourself). It helps you find your voice. When the time is right, send that voice out.

I switched from Evernote to OneNote in November after years of faithful Evernoteyness (I even carry the Evernote bag). So far, it’s been a good move.

The move from Nozbe to Wunderlist for task management? Not so much. I’m coming back home.

Despite all the things churches aim at these days, there is only one thing the church uniquely offers people and, theoretically, does better than anyone else–teach people the Word and help them grow in Christ.

Not that we need this sort of data to support that idea, but Willow Creek’s REVEAL and FOCUS studies demonstrate the same thing. People come to church to learn about God (the Bible especially) and grow spiritually–more than anything else–and it’s not close.

I’ve been reading a novel by Adrian Barnes, called, Nod, in which most of the world loses the ability to sleep and the societal decay that follows. Creepy, weird and interesting. So far, it’s not the best I’ve ever read… But it has an interesting premise and holds attention.

I’m eager to read Rodney Stark’s new book, The Triumph of Faith. He makes the case the world is more faith than ever and rumors of it’s spiritual demise (and that of millennials) are greatly exaggerated. These have all been my experience, but it’s nice to have someone like Stark say the same thing with data to back it up.

My experience with Millennials is they are not radically different than previous generations…and our obsession and view of their wants may be more a projection and triangling of them into the stress between liberal and conservative Christianity.

I’ve also observed that what they say and do is quite different–and thus surveys don’t capture reality well. Tracking their behavior through better means might yield better fruit.

College football championship game prediction – Clemson 30, Alabama 17.

New feature on Friday Stream–song of the week. These are songs that might introduce you to someone new or a song that might inspire you as you head into the weekend.

The first of these comes from one of my new favorite bands–The Lone Bellow. Their music is consistently good–and their lyrics border on Christian–and sometimes are flat out Christian (check out, “I See That Hand). Here they are singing, “Then Came the Morning,” live…probably my favorite of theirs…along with “Call To War.” Have a great weekend!

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Dr. Tim Spivey is Lead Planter of New Vintage Church in San Diego, California. He is the author of numerous articles and one book, "Jesus: The Powerful Servant." A sought after speaker for events, Tim also serves as Adjunct Professor of Religion at Pepperdine University. Tim serves as a church consultant, and his writings are featured on ChurchLeaders.com, Church Executive magazine, Faith Village, Sermon Central, and Giving Rocket.